The origin of gods?

Question

I would prefer answers from non-religous people because I have a feeling religous people will just give me their dogma.

I don't find the fact that every civilization and culture since the dawn of man has had gods, which makes me think that the god relevant in this time period would be no different or real.

Why so many gods then? Was it depending on what a god was about, some gods would be more appealing to humans until one won out?

Sort of like a evolutionary process of gods. If you thought of triaits like genes. Some would be more fit to survivethen others. Like a god about love would be more appealing than a god shooting lightning bolts from his hands, so that lightning bolt god would die out.

The best genes (traits) would be more fit to survive til you had one, efficient god, the one relevant in this time period?

Answer 1

There are many who try to apply the concept of evolutionary biology to customs, ideas, and behaviours.  When they do, the core unit is not a gene, but is called a 'meme'.  And they often cite the kind of things you do - that certain elements of religion memes make them good at surviving and competing with other customs and each other.

Among these are ideas of exclusivity which help keep domgas from being corrupted, a missionary drive to help spread the ideas more, and a suggestion of primacy that makes all other concerns secondary.  Almost every religion has some of these elements!

Some even go so far as to argue that religion as a whole might have a broader effect on evolution as well:  that the reason all societies seem to have at least one religion is that it is actually beneficial for their survival for them to.  More conservative biologists balk at this conclusion, though, because the typical scale of evolution is one of millions of years and we only have a few thousand years of history to go by.  Perhaps, they argue, this is just an irregularity that has no more effect on survival than hair styles or clothing fashions.

If you find this line of inquiry interesting, you might wish to check out 'meme theory'.  I put a couple links below to get you started.  Peace.